Fish n Chips

We are living in a beautiful little place called Buderim. There are adventures all over and fun places within walking distance. This is a fish n' chips shop about a half mile away that we have walked to twice... It is incredibly delicious. Salt an lemon. We have tried the Hoki fish and don't want to branch out. We love it. Since these pictures were taken, we've learned that buying large bags of Hoki and Baka is a lot cheaper and we like it MUCH more without the breading. :) we throw a few fillets in a skillet and add veggies at the end. Great easy meal. It is SO hot and I don't love heating up the kitchen at the hottest time of day. Fast, easy dinners are one reason I love summer so much.

The Pacific

Seeing the kids faces as they discovered the sand and waves and sounds of the beach has been rewarding. Parker is almost afraid of the water washing up at first. He waits for the wave to come in and turns and runs as fast and far as he can... Not stopping until I called his name. He loves the feel of the sand. He walks and stop to examine what the feel under his feet is. Such a great time. Caleb attacks each wave as it comes in. Amanda stays right by him because he gets a tad too adventurous. :) These are pictures from one of our first trips the the beach. Since then, we have discovered a few different family friendly, INCREDIBLE beaches. There are a few with playgrounds at the water front. The play grounds have pavilions with stoves to grill on. It's quite incredible the beauty and family friendly fun available here. We took a picnic the other day, for parker's birthday, and then went and played at the beach for a few hours. It has been so nice having SOMEWHERE that the boys can run and jump and throw and dig without any worry on our part. :) There are shops lining the beach. One date night Ryan and I went down to walk and the beach and walk through the shops. It's an very laid back environment here. We just got some beach toys from Christmas and are going to have dinner on the beach. Hopefully the sandcastle building can really begin now. :)

"Goin' Out to Sea are We?"

While shopping we were scrutinized like you wouldn't believe. Everyone seems to come to the store daily to get what they need for dinner that day. It was quite the adventure. We went to three stores, and each time the same things happened. One time a guy said, "headed out to sea are we?" I'm so thankful Amanda was with me... What would have been an unenjoyable experience was great fun. something that surprised me was the size of goods sold! I'm sure this isn't surprising to anyone else that has travelled, but everything is sold in small quantities here. There are fresh meat and fruit markets on every corner! I LOVE this. The meat is cut in front of you (well, in a room in back of the counter with the door open) and is really fresh. (SMELLS AWFUL, but what a great way to shop for meat) The fish is delicious and inexpensive. We have grilled fish more than any other meat. Hoki and baka are two that we have liked. The stores are very small here and don't have many brands of one item. Lack of competition, perhaps, is one of the reasons for high prices? I LOVE that the food here is free of artificial everything. Their main grocery store doesn't sell anything with artificial flavours, colours or preservatives! That has been incredible. I couldn't believe it when I saw it. We have really appreciated that! Auto correct keeps telling me Incorrectly. So great. I know the differences between the spelling, but I'm wondering how Braxton will do on spelling tests. :)

Homemade Washing Machine

We came to an unfurnished house... although our friends had done a great job of furnishing it for us, we didn't have a washing machine for a few days. Laundry was at the top of our must-do list, so we improvised. :) I knew we brought her along for a reason. ;)

The Flight

This was an adventure in it's self. :) When we arrived at the airport with Mom and Aunt Laura/Uncle Gary we had the airport to ourselves, it seemed. I went to get the luggage all checked in with ryan and the boys locked the doors from the inside. This wasn't a big deal, as my mom was in the car with them. When we came out, however, they pulled the handle from the inside, setting off the alarm. We couldn't get it to turn off. It was awful and lasted for 10 mintues and gave me ridiculous anxiety. Anyway, we finally figured it out and met inside with Amanda and her boyfriend and Liz, a family friend, for goodbyes. We headed to our gate and enjoyed playing games and reading books. IT was a great night. The boys were amazed at the 747 and 777 that were just outside the window from them. We were all extremely excited for the first flight. We boarded and it was a glorious experience had by all... except for the man that was sleeping in between ryan and I. ;) The boys were squealing with excitement and saying things like, "mom, can you even believe this?!" It was exactly as I hoped for. On the decent Logan and Caleb's ears were really hurting. That was the only hard part of the flight. Then we got to LAX. How things can change in a flash. :) The boys fell asleep about 20 minutes before boarding. It was 11 pm our time and they had been up and ready to leave for the airport that morning when the sun came up. :) It. had. been. a. long. day. Ryan went to try and arrange boarding. He asked if we could board the kids and come back for our belongings. They said no. They offered no help. They told us we would need to wake them and have them walk on by themselves. Ha! We had a carryon for each of us and 4 sleeping big-boys. It was a task, but we drug them on heaving and sweating and struggling all the way. Meanwhile, everyone in California was lined up watching and not helping. :) I may be prone to hyperbole but ONLY because it really felt this way. :) They ran the plan on Aussie time, so dinner was served 2 hours after boarding (our 1 am). All the boys were sleeping and didn't eat. The next meal was 12 hours later. Awesome. the boys woke about our 6 am, when everyone else had just been sleeping about an hour. Parker slept on my lap the whole night and I had zero circulation in my legs. this is way too much detail and nothing important, but it was not enjoyable. The remainder of the flight everyone slept.... except us. I didn't feel like I could turn on the lights to let the kids do their own things, for fear of disrupting everyone. SO, I resorted to movies. We were so excited for the sun to come up so that we could see the clouds and ocean and have that as a distraction... and then they asked us to keep the shades down so everyone could sleep. DIE. The older two did great the whole flight, but caleb and Parker struggled. By the last three hours I was ready to rip my hair out and got out the aprons our friends back home made the kids. They were full of new toys, snacks and great activities. It made the last hours bearable... To speed things up, we got to customs and the kids were everywhere. Once we found all of our luggage they just pushed us out the door, bypassing inspection and sniffer dogs. That was the only highlight of the flight. Sounds really downerish, because it was, but it has gotten a lot better. :)

The Beginning of a New Adventure!

Where to begin. I want to document as much as we can so we're able to look back and remember everything. Ryan was offered a job opportunity here with some friends of ours in Australia. I guess it began before that... President Smibert fell ill with cancer back in the Spring. He wasn't doing well and thought he wouldn't make it more than a few months. Ryan and I discussed the possibility of his coming for a visit and decided it was important to go. He had an expired passport and visa and was wanting to leave in a matter of days. He found a company to rush the order of both and was in Australia within a weeks time. He had a wonderful visit. He was expecting to stay on his own and steal a few minutes of Presidents time IF he was feeling up to it and IF Ryan didn't get sick in the interim. He spent all of his time there with president and his family. They had him stay with them and spent a wonderful week together. Ryan was very close with he and his wife and this meant so much to him. He received a blessing before flying home. It has changed Ryan and, in someways, changed his view of life. The trip was more than worth it. When he came home I got to here all about the great experiences. They were special for sure. He told me, almost in passing, that he was able to catch up with an old mission companion. He told me what a good man he was and what a great time they had with president, together. A while later Ryan mentioned that they Richard had talked about Ryan coming to work with him in Australia. We smiled at the thought and moved on. A few months later Ryan came home and said that Rich had asked about the possibilities of him coming on board a new project he was looking into. Something about Ryan that many don't know is his LOVE of the business world. He has always wanted to start his own business. When he was ten, maybe twelve, he had his paper route (that he took extrememly seriously. Around Christmas one year he went and bought a bunch of candy canes to put inside the newspapers of all on his route. :) ) and since then has always had a job. He is constantly proposing great ideas that I haven't ever had interest in. :) So, when he came home and said, "Jess, we need to talk", I figured it was another proposal. My response to this was, "if it means leaving CES then, no." He watched for my response so I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and smiled. He took that as the go ahead and went off about an idea I could tell he was excited about. At the beginning of this new proposal, it seemed like the others. We had very powerful experiences leading us to CES and knew that was where Heavenly Father wanted us when we began, so the thought of leaving was scary to me. He shared the proposal and we just kind of left it at that for a day or two. I didn't have any feelings either way regarding the job offer and then I remembered an experience he had had a few weeks prior that seemed to be related to this. Without the experience he had shared three weeks prior to the job offer, I don't think we would be here. I think heavenly father knew I needed a big push to get us here and he gave it to us. So we began really discussing the possibilities and what this would mean in all the different aspects of life; our house rentals, the boys and school, leaving the bishopric early, CES, book writing for Deseret Book... it seemed that there would be a seriously disruptive uprooting in order for us to do this. But, things started falling into place. Everything that needed working out, was worked out. We were packed up and Ryan left three weeks after the initial discussing. It all happened very quickly. Things that fell into place were renters back home, getting a house in Australia, help from the U of U (as he is in the middle of his PhD and having to finish it overseas). There have been many people that have helped and things went very smoothly. There were ten applications on the home we wanted (and that is how it is EVERYWHERE on the sunshine coast) and we thought there was no way we get into a house here. Everyone that was looking to rent were older couples with no children and we have four little boys. We had been in the country 1 week when he was trying to apply for housing. The agent didn't like us, so ryan went over him and talked directly with the owner... and for those that know Ryan we know he is good at schmoozing and getting his way. :) We ended up getting the house, thanks to a friend that wrote and awesome letter of recommendation. It has been a whirlwind of a move, but we are here and getting settled. I want to attempt to document our journey. SO... here we go.

The Fourth of July at Grandma's

EVERY year, when I was a little girl, we would head over to Grandma Gourley's house for a bbq and fireworks. It was something that I looked forward to and really enjoyed. We would bring our own fireworks to light before the city ones went off. Grandpa ALWAYS served neopalaton Ice cream (the chocolate, strawberry, vanilla flavor that no one really likes) Well, we still don't like it, but we buy it every fourth of July because... it's tradition! Nostalgic. Ryan, of course, buys other flavors because he says it's fun to have it there, but that doesn't mean we have to eat it. LOL. Nice. So, the schedule looks like this... BBQ, then lighting our own fireworks, then rolling down the hill and sliding in our sleeping bags until all of the city fireworks begin. Then the ice cream is brought out and we would all have such a great time. A few mosquito bites and we woke up a bit tired the next day, but it was well worth it. :) So, grandma sold her home on 1400 E and moved down into the valley further. This year we went to her new house and had a great time. We played basketball in the cult-de-sac until dinner was ready. Then we just enjoyed being together. Chess, bubbles, football, wrestling... the whole enchilada. The fireworks were ONTOP of us. We could feel the vibrations. It was a great time. I love family traditions.

Christmas 2012

I LOVE having family come and stay at Christmas time. It seems things are much more exciting around the holidays with the children and even more exciting when grandparents and family get to share in it. We have had so much fun with Christmas building our family traditions. We stole one from a dear friend that the kids look forward to in a big way. On christmas Eve Santa's elves are heard outside the bathroom window while the boys are all in the bath. (this is following the program and party we have in the afternoon) They hear the bells jingling and then the doorbell rings. The boys run out to find the Elves have left them a present and a note. They get dressed in their cozy get up and meet around the tree for the nativity story. After that we turn off all of the lights and sing hymns while I play the piano. Then it's off to bed. In the morning we all meet on mom and dad's bed to read Luke 2 and share our testimonies of Jesus over breakfast. This has been my favorite part of Christmas Day. Then, we head out to spend time giving gifts to each other and take turns opening so we can all share in the excitement. I am so thankful for these boys and their love of the Savior and their example to me of living after the manner of Jesus Christ.

Family Pictures 2013

Last fall we went to one of our favorite spots up santaquin canyon for family pictures. A friend of ours, and fellow bishopric member took the photos. I love the one of all four boys. We have so many wonderful memories up this canyon. We take picnics, go on drives, hikes, go fishing and meet friends for roasts. It is so beautiful and there is much to explore and discover. Love the memories we have made here.

Braxton's 7th Birthday to "U Dig"

We have made a new family tradition that I think we are going to love... at certain intervals in their lives they have the option of having a "friend" birthday party (ages 4, 8, 12, 16) and the other years, we are going to make memories for their birthdays! Everyone gets to choose where we go and how we spend the day on "their" day. Braxton chose to go to U DIG fossils in Delta. It was a three hour trip out, and worth the drive. We found a couple dozen really great trilobites. They were all in little boy heaven, except for Parker who had a hard time navigating through the mountain of shale. We spent the day searching and digging and hammering, only stopping to have a picnic and water breaks. It was HOT! On the drive home and there we played games and sang songs. Such a great time. It was wonderful celebrating with our little man! -Braxton's favorite color's are gold and black at the moment -He loves reading the Magic Tree house series. I have to go turn out his light every night because he stays up reading well past bed time. -He loves school. He is in Mrs. Wrides 2nd grade class. -Some friends that he spends time with are; Caleb Boyle, Jason Wride, Ryan, Fisher Black -He loves riding his bike, playing soccer, baseball, and spending as much time with his dad as he can. -His brothers are his best friends. He holds logan's hand on the way to the bus in the mornings. -He is SUCH a big helper. Sometimes, after long days, when he has been helping me clean up and get the kids ready for bed I get a few dollars and tell him, "when you help like a big boy, you get paid like one". He ALWAYS says, "No mom. I don't want to get paid, I just want to help you." He is my angel. (one of my four) -He loves swimming and jumping off of the diving board. -He started piano a few weeks ago and is enjoying it. LOVE OUR LITTLE B!

President Dirk Smibert

In March of this year, Ryan's mission president past away due to cancer. Ryan and President Smibert were very close. He was Ryan's mentor and friend. He and his sweet wife have influenced our lives greatly. We spent a week in Australia at their home when we were first married. They came out here every year, at least once, and always made time for us... whether it was a dinner date, a dessert date or driving them around to their appointments, just so that we could talk in the car. They have taught us so much about becoming like Jesus Christ. I have learned many lessons from them in the 8 or so years that I have known them. They taught me that people come first and that heavenly father will let us know where to spend our time and how to we help and influence others. They taught me how to use time and not to waste it. They taught me that by making ourselves available to serve, the lord will be able to use us that much more. He taught ryan to be independently financially secure so that we are more available to serve. They taught us the importance of including our children in our callings, even if it seems taboo to others. They taught us the importance love, music and laughter in the family. They have taught us how to become more like Jesus. Ryan was able to fly out to visit with them before his passing. We will always treasure those few precious days they had together. The counsel and wisdom he received is priceless to us. They have such a big place in our hearts.

Summer 2013 Fishing at Burriston Ponds

Wow! It has been along time since I have endeavored an update on here. It will be a few different posts, but I want to highlight some of our awesome, adventure-filled summer. We did a lot of fishing this year. One particular trip, Ryan took Braxton and Logan at 5 am on a trip to Burriston Ponds... They caught ten good sized trout in less than 4 hours. They were delicious, too! Braxton and Logan love fishing and take advantage of the entire experience. We hike around while the poles sit. Look for lizards, bugs, snakes and anything that moves, really. Parker loves throwing rocks in the water, scaring all the fish away. It gives us a great chance to get away and put our world on hold for a few hours. I have many more picture of canyon/fishing adventures I will upload and add.